Thumbs up, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...It brings together two different worlds and succeeds in striking a balance between the two. For that, and for much else, Shaandaar deserves hearty ovation. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Pallavi Patra, Zee News : ...Music by Amit Trivedi is fantastic. Some songs are really good. Screenplay is dotted with a bit of animation and some 'butterfly' moments to give it a fairytale touch. ... full review

So-So, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...The film is rhythmless and somewhat dull, and you keep wondering why it all sounds like so much fun and yet there’s so little to enjoy. ... full review

So-So, Bollywood Hungama : ...On the whole, SHAANDAAR is a feel good movie that will make you leave the cinema hall with a smile on your face, despite its flaws. It will mainly appeal to the youth who seem to be the target audience for the film. ... full review

So-So, by Moumita Bhattacharjee, Bollywood Life : ...Despite all that, watch this film this festive weekend because it’s been sometime since we saw a KJo embellishment onscreen. ... full review

So-So, by Aneela Zeb Babar, Desi Martini : ...Shandaar is that second serving of chocolate mousse tonight. Totally unnecessary but Khair hai but tis the festive season, its OK to binge on something so sweet and fluffy it will set your teeth in edge. If KHOOBSURAT last year was the Big Pink Fairytale For Grownups; SHANDAAR just super sized it. If Queen was the small, unassuming eye of that Other India in Europe, SHANDAAR is all of Chopra and Disney on steroid. And in between are moments that just make you muse on youth... the effervescent Aaliya on parentage, later a oh well "danga" riots happen. It will take me a while to get off this sugar rush. ... full review

So-So, by Parichay Mehta , Desi Martini : ...Verdict - Shaandaar. Neither Zabardast, nor Zindabaad. ... full review

So-So, by Ameen Bhuvan, Desi Martini : ...Verdict - Good actors, bad story, and there hangs the tale. ... full review

So-So, by Shefali Saxena, Desi Martini : ...Verdict - The cinematographer decided ki duniya ki saari sundarta is film mein dikhani hai! ... full review

So-So, by Mehak Khurana , Desi Martini : ...Verdict - A light-hearted, candyfloss flick ; Shaandaar is visually shaandaar! ... full review

So-So, by Josh, fullhyd.com : ...Perhaps these styles of filmmaking shouldn't be merged together. They don't blend. It'd be for the best of all niches of audience if they were left alone. Maybe a film titled Shaandaar might have actually lived up to its name then.Perhaps these styles of filmmaking shouldn't be merged together. They don't blend. It'd be for the best of all niches of audience if they were left alone. Maybe a film titled Shaandaar might have actually lived up to its name then. ... full review

So-So, koimoi : ...Vikas Bahl it seems wants to establish himself as a versatile director. His first two outings (Chillar Party and Queen) were totally different from each other, apart from being really brilliant films. Shaandaar is different from his other flicks alright, but it’s far from being brilliant. Bahl’s scenes are seen falling flat most of the time, and he isn’t even able to whip out something to keep us captivated during the boring parts. He however succeeds in bringing out the best from his actors. He and the ever so impressive Anil Mehta deserve credit for capturing some jaw dropping locations as well. The film would have received a lot of help if some of its songs and unneeded sequences were chopped off, especially the cheesy bits like the Karan Johar cameo and the long and winding scene in which everyone gets accidentally drugged. The animated bits are uninspired and yet another attempt by Bahl to capture the fairy tale vibe. ... full review

So-So, MoviezADDA : ...Overall, Shaandaar targets the teenyboppers and the fantasy dreamy lover boys who just can't get enough sleep. A perfect getaway movie post the tiresome Dandiya & Garba season. Eyes wide open or eyes wide shut, you decide. ... full review

So-So, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...As a cohesive whole, the film is a merry mess. Shaandaar, then, is a peculiar film - to be enjoyed for its beautiful moments, and to be endured for its bizarre ones. ... full review

So-So, by Rummana, yahoo! India : ...Despite the issues, you will love ‘Shaandaar’ because this is a fun film that keeps you entertained all along. There is nothing not to like – there is glitz, glamour, romance and a neat little message that makes you want to root for our lovely, fat little bride. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Anna MM Vetticad, annavetticadgoes2themovies : ...There was a smoothness to Queen that indicated great teamwork. Shaandaar, on the other hand, feels like patchwork. Take that scene in which a gay man comes out of the closet before his relatives. It leads to a sweetly amusing response from the family that is promptly followed by a moment of stereotyping in which he aims a gun at someone with the limpest wrist ever seen in Bollywood. It’s as though two separate mindsets were operating within that idea. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ...But whatever may be the cause this is exactly why producers dream to get a solo release on a Festival holiday to remain in a pretty safe zone. Because in a long Festival Weekend even a grand-mess like SHAANDAAR gets house-full in the multiplexes promising a good initial. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Prateeksha Khot, Bolly Spice : ...It’s a pity that where it could have been a smart take on the weight bullying faced by today’s generation, Shaandaar ends up being neither here nor there.... full review

Thumbs down, by Deepa Gahlot, cinemaah : ...The lead pair is spirited and the film will probably work as a date movie. If more was expected it’s because Queen was such a game changer for females in films. Shaandaar is just a piece of fluff. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Suparna Sharma, Deccan Chronicle : ...After Chillar Party (2011) and Queen (2014), Vikas Behl has made Shaandaar. It’s the sort of screenplay that should have made him vomit. It’s a septic tank full of stinking ideas Bollywood had used and excreted several times over. Watching the film is like wading through waist-deep muck littered with dead ideas, dud characters, rotting cliches. Cute Alia gets the full attention of the cinematographer and the audience, but seems listless and a bit out of it all. In any case, she has no character except that she can’t sleep till she sleeps. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Krish Sripada, Desi Martini : ...If you like lame jokes and Alia, you'll like this movie.... full review

Thumbs down, by Smita Vyas Kumar, Desi Martini : ...Verdict - A nonsensical movie that insults the intelligence of the audience. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Prema Singh, Desi Martini : ...Verdict - You can choose to sleep, but why not a movie instead? ... full review

Thumbs down, by Sumit Kumar, Desi Martini : ...Mid movie review... They say that you should keep your mind at home when you are going for a movie like this... True.. But what when you go back.. You will find even your brain laughing on you so hard that you went for a shit like this! You will then want to slap yourself to spend time and money.. This is what this Shaandaar trauma is capable of ! My mind is surely going to reject me nw ! I dnt knw how I am going to handle the second half ! This is nt even for kids ! Its just another level of retardness ! God I am loving these commercials ! Avoid the movie at all cost guyz ! ... full review

Thumbs down, by Rohan Sonali Mehra , Desi Martini : ...vvery bad movie... no story behind it ... full review

Thumbs down, by Sarita A Tanwar, DNA : ...What to do: Gatecrashing a Sindhi wedding would be more fun than spending time and money on this one. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Rachit Gupta, Filmfare : ...Vikas Bahl should’ve done better with Shaandaar. The biggest mistake he makes is to not trust his actors. In scenes where he opts for animation, he should’ve just let Pankaj Kapur and Alia Bhatt do the magic. But he doesn’t. He chooses to rely on cheap frills. And no matter how much money you spend padding up gimmicks, they don’t work like the real thing. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Gayatri Gauri, FirstPost : ...Energetic shenanigans and some nice, comic lines make Shaandaar watchable fare only till the interval. The rest is entirely forgettable, unlike Bahl’s memorable Queen. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...Alia Bhatt is a natural in the movie and the more I see of her, the more I am amazed by her spontaneous quality and natural beauty. Sanah Kapoor making her debut is quite a charmer with a confident performance. Shahid is lost and how. He should probably go find the microphone and cone speaker he used in HAIDER to announce for people to read his scripts before he signs on the dotted line. ... full review

Thumbs down, by rohit Vats, Hindustan Times : ...Amit Trivedi’s soulful music breaks monotony at times, but how much can you expect from songs? Shaandaar tries very hard but it’s not funny. It has moments which will give a glimpse of Vikas Bahl’s talent. It has star power and that is its biggest draw. But not much is shining in Shaandaar... full review

Thumbs down, by Rishibha Gupta, india today : ...If you want to go watch the movie, go only for the new kid on the block. The most promising Kapoor in the movie was Sanah Kapoor. The Gulaabo will literally steal your heart away with her dimpled smile and natural banter in the movie. The cherry on the cake is the sangeet qawalli song, where the body-shamed bride receives support from members of her family. We'd love to see what the girl will do next! It comes as a surprise that Bahl is the same movie maverick who gave us Queen. It's okay, if you shun Shaandaar! ... full review

Thumbs down, by Uday Bhatia, Live Mint : ...For 2 hours, Shaandaar strains to entertain, throwing everything from animation to skydiving at the audience. Then, with around 20 minutes to go, Bahl seems to let go of the reins and everything careens out of control. The film ends on such a vague and uninspiring note, it feels like the director himself gave up on it. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Shubha Shetty-Saha, MiD DAY : ...The story lacks imagination, the screenplay is shoddy and the dialogues unfunny. Some humour goes unlaughed at and rest goes undigested. For instance, there's a scene where it is hinted that a respected business magazine takes money to put people on their covers, and another one when a young lad sets his grandma on fire. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Jaidev Hemmady, Movie Talkies : ...The music is quite nice (especially the title track, Gulaabo and Raaita Phail Gaya) and might be the only highlight of the film.The film does have its funny moments, but overall, the treatment of the story is such that it fails to touch your heart. Better luck next time, Mr. Bahl. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Raja Sen, Rediff : ...It looks spiffy and there’s some gloss to like, but overall Shaandaar is pretty much -- as Alia calls the fourth finger of each hand -- useless. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Jyothi Venkatesh, Star Blockbuster : ...Last Word: It is sad that Vikas Bahl, who had given us gems like Chillar Party and Queen has slipped with this one tale which is clichéd and full of idiosyncrasies, ending up leaving out storytelling basics, like conflict and drama and lulls you to sleep... full review

Thumbs down, by VISHAL MENON, The Hindu : ...the film struggles to tell any one story genuinely. Even the film’s moment of triumph, coming in the last 10 minutes, feels like Vikas Bahl reminding the world that he’s the pro-woman director who made Queen. We walk in to Shaandaar expecting to meet a beautiful girl who will captivate us with insightful conversation, but instead, we meet a dumb blonde who’s just too busy filing her nails.... full review

Thumbs down, by Meena Iyer, Times of India : ...Seriously, how was anyone to guess that this is a cruel joke played by Bahl on his investors and perhaps on an unsuspecting audience. ... full review